Growing numbers of studies employ cell line-based systematic short interfering RNA (siRNA) screens to study gene functions and to identify drug targets. As multiple sources of variations that are unique to siRNA screens exist, there is a growing demand for a computational tool that generates normalized values and standardized scores. However, only a few tools have been available so far with limited usability. Here, we present siMacro, a fast and easy-to-use Microsoft Office Excel-based tool with a graphic user interface, designed to process single-condition or two-condition synthetic screen datasets. siMacro normalizes position and batch effects, censors outlier samples, and calculates Z-scores and robust Z-scores, with a spreadsheet output of >120,000 samples in under 1 minute.
High-Throughput Screening Assays ; RNA Interference ; RNA, Small Interfering

Most of anti-incontinence surgeries bear the risk of postoperative complication such as voiding dysfunction due to urethral obstruction. Fortunately, Tension Free Vaginal Tape(TVT) procedure has much lower incidence of postoperative urethral obstruction than other surgical procedures for stress urinary incontinence. There are many reports about the surgical treatments for short-term urethral obstruction after TVT procedure. However, there are few reports on the effect of surgical releasing of the obstruction lasting for a long period. In our case, the patient had urethral obstruction for 32 months after TVT procedure and she was able to void well after surgical releasing of the tape. We suggest that releasing of the tape will be a treatment of choice for long-term urethral obstruction after TVT procedure.
Humans ; Incidence ; Postoperative Complications ; Suburethral Slings* ; Urethral Obstruction* ; Urinary Incontinence

Bovine tuberculosis (TB) is a major zoonosis that's caused by Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis). Being able to detect M. bovis is important to control bovine TB. We applied a molecular technique, the variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) typing method, to identify and distinguish the M. bovis isolates from Gyeonggi-do, Korea. From 2003 to 2004, 59 M. bovis clinical strains were isolated from dairy cattle in Gyeonggi-do, Korea, and these cattle had tuberculosis-like lesions. Twenty-four published MIRUVNTR markers were applied to the M. bovis isolates and ten of them showed allelic diversity. The most discriminatory locus for the M. bovis isolates in Korea was QUB 3336 (h = 0.64). QUB 26 and MIRU 31 also showed high discriminative power (h = 0.35). The allelic diversity by the combination of all VNTR loci was 0.86. Six loci (MIRU 31, ETR-A and QUB-18, -26, -3232, -3336) displayed valuable allelic diversity. Twelve genotypes were identified from the 59 M. bovis isolates that originated from 20 cattle farms that were dispersed throughout the region of Gyenggi-do. Two genotypes [designation index (d.i.) = e, g] showed the highest prevalence (20% of the total farms). For the multiple outbreaks on three farms, two successive outbreaks were caused by the same genotype at two farms. Interestingly, the third outbreak at one farm was caused by both a new genotype and a previous genotype. In conclusion, this study suggests that MIRU-VNTR typing is useful to identify and distinguish the M. bovis isolates from Gyeonggi-do, Korea.
Animals ; Cattle ; DNA Primers/genetics ; *Genetic Variation ; Genotype ; Korea/epidemiology ; Minisatellite Repeats/*genetics ; Mycobacterium bovis/*genetics ; Prevalence ; Tuberculosis, Bovine/*epidemiology/*microbiology

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the associations of frailty with perceived neighborhood walkability and environmental pollution among community-dwelling older adults in rural areas. METHODS: The participants were 808 community-dwelling men and women aged 65 years and older in 2 rural towns. Comprehensive information, including demographics, socioeconomic status, grip strength, polypharmacy, perceived neighborhood environment (specifically, walkability and environmental pollution), and frailty, was collected from participants using face-to-face interviews conducted between June and August 2018. Perceived neighborhood walkability was measured using 20 items that were selected and revised from the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale, the Neighborhood Walkability Checklist from the National Heart Foundation of Australia, and the Physical Activity Neighborhood Environment Survey. The Kaigo-Yobo Checklist was used to assess participants’ frailty. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of frailty in this community-dwelling population was 35.5%. Sex, age, cohabitation status, educational attainment, employment status, grip strength, and polypharmacy were significantly associated with frailty. In the logistic regression analysis, frailty was associated with low perceived neighborhood walkability (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.881; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.833 to 0.932; p<0.001) and severe perceived neighborhood environmental pollution (aOR, 1.052; 95% CI, 1.017 to 1.087; p=0.003) after adjusting for sex, age, cohabitation status, educational attainment, employment status, monthly income, grip strength, and polypharmacy. CONCLUSIONS More studies are warranted to establish causal relationships between walkability and environmental pollution and frailty.

BACKGROUND: Hyperhomocysteinemia is an independent risk factor for cerebrovascular disease. MTHFR 677TT genotype can induce hyperhomocysteinemia. However, the association between this 677TT genotype and ischemic stroke still remains controversial. This study was undertaken to determine whether MTHFR 677TT genotype was associated with certain subtype of ischemic stroke. METHODS: The case group consisted of 129 patients with ischemic stroke and the control group consisted of 157 healthy individuals. We checked their fasting plasma homocysteine levels and analyzed the C677T mutation in the MTHFR gene. The relative risk of MTHFR 677TT genotype was assessed by odds ratios using multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: Homocysteine levels in plasma were significantly higher in ischemic stroke patients (10.386.44 mol/L) than in controls (8.002.40) (P<0.05). In small-artery disease (11.366.01), the same result was found (P<0.05). On the other hand, the prevalence of the homozygote mutation was not significantly higher in ischemic stroke patients (20.2%) than in controls (13.4%) (adjusted OR 1.39, 95% CI 0.65 to 2.96). The adjusted OR and 95% CI was 2.59 (1.08 to 6.25) for the TT genotype in patients with small-artery disease compared to controls. The 677TT genotype was increased in small-artery disease compared to large-artery disease (adjusted OR 7.60, 95% CI 1.66 to 34.77). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the homozygous C677T mutation in the MTHFR gene is a risk predictor in the subtype of ischemic stroke, such as small-artery disease.
Fasting ; Genotype ; Hand ; Homocysteine ; Homozygote ; Humans ; Hyperhomocysteinemia* ; Logistic Models ; Odds Ratio ; Plasma ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Stroke*

BACKGROUND: Serum leptin level and bone mineral density (BMD) are widely assumed to be positively associated with body fat mass. Numerous attempts have been made to document the relationship between leptin and BMD, but the results are inconsistent, especially in diabetic patients. METHODS: A total of 60 Korean postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes mellitus were included in the present study. The BMDs of lumbar spines (L1 to L4) and proximal femurs (trochanter, neck, and total) were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and biochemical markers including leptin, HbA1c, C-peptide and urine albumin-creatinine ratio (ACR) were measured for each patient. RESULTS: Negative associations between leptin and BMD of femoral neck, trochanter, and total femur in postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes mellitus were documented in a model adjusted for age, body fat mass, and fasting insulin level (r = -0.308, P = 0.020 and r = - 0.303, P = 0.025 and r = - 0.290, P = 0.032 respectively). Multiple linear regression analysis was performed revealing negative associations between leptin and BMD of the femoral neck (beta = -0.369), trochanter (beta = -0.324), and total femur (beta = -0.317). CONCLUSION: The results of the present study suggest a negative relationship between leptin and femoral BMD. In addition, leptin may have a negative effect on BMD in postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Absorptiometry, Photon ; Adipose Tissue ; Biomarkers ; Bone Density ; C-Peptide ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Fasting ; Female ; Femur ; Femur Neck ; Humans ; Insulin ; Leptin ; Linear Models ; Neck ; Spine

Differentiated thyroid cancer demonstrates a wide range of clinical presentations, from very indolent cases to those with an aggressive prognosis. Therefore, diagnosing and treating each cancer appropriately based on its risk status is important. The Korean Thyroid Association (KTA) has provided and amended the clinical guidelines for thyroid cancer management since 2007. The main changes in this revised 2024 guideline include 1) individualization of surgical extent according to pathological tests and clinical findings, 2) application of active surveillance in low-risk papillary thyroid microcarcinoma, 3) indications for minimally invasive surgery, 4) adoption of World Health Organization pathological diagnostic criteria and definition of terminology in Korean, 5) update on literature evidence of recurrence risk for initial risk stratification, 6) addition of the role of molecular testing, 7) addition of definition of initial risk stratification and targeting thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) concentrations according to ongoing risk stratification (ORS), 8) addition of treatment of perioperative hypoparathyroidism, 9) update on systemic chemotherapy, and 10) addition of treatment for pediatric patients with thyroid cancer.